JPH0636642A - Operation panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a protrusion near touch switches, each having a control face on the same plane as a panel face, in order to operate each touch switch in a blind touch and to make switching operations possible with the protrusion felt through a blind touch as a reference point. CONSTITUTION:A touch switch 21a,... 23b or the like is provided on the same face as a panel 20. A protrusion 30 is provided near the switches and is felt for blindly to serve as a reference point in performing blind operations of the switches 21a... 23b.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation panel, and more specifically, to an operation panel having a touch switch surface on the same surface as the panel surface, in other words, the position of the touch switch is visually invisible. For example, it relates to an operation panel that can be touched and sensed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram for explaining an example of a dental treatment unit to which the present invention is applied.
0 is a dental treatment unit, and the unit 10 comprises a treatment chair 1, a work table 2, a spittoon 3, an operating light 4, an instrument holder 5, a foot switch 6, an instrument holder 7 for an assistant, and the like. The instrument holder 5 accommodates various instruments 8 to be used in dental treatment. As is well known, when performing dental treatment, the patient sits on the chair 1 and the head is fixed to the head rest 9. Receive treatment. During the treatment, the operator moves the treatment chair 1 up and down, tilts it up, tilts it, and so on to make the patient a posture that makes it easy to treat the patient. The operation of the treatment chair 1 is performed by operating a switch provided on the operation panel 20, and recently, in order to keep the switch clean (that is, to facilitate sterilization), recently, Then
The switch surface is flush with the panel surface, and the flat surface is wiped with a disinfecting cloth or the like for sterilization.

[0003]

As described above, if the switch surface is made to be the same plane as the panel surface, the switch must be visually inspected when operating the switch,
It was very inconvenient because the chair could not be operated blindly during the treatment.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an operation panel having a touch switch surface on the same surface as the panel surface, wherein the surface of the operation panel is close to the switch. And has a protrusion.

[0005]

In order to operate a touch switch having an operation surface on the same surface as the panel surface by blind touch, a protrusion is provided in the vicinity of the switch, and the protrusion is sensed by blind touch, and the protrusion is used as a base point. Switch operation.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example in which the present invention is applied to an operation panel of a dental treatment unit, in which 20 is an operation panel, and this operation panel 20 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown by 0, it is provided in the work table of the dental treatment unit or in the vicinity thereof, and is moved together with the work table and placed at a position where it is easy to operate. During the treatment, the surgeon holds the instrument in his hand to diagnose the patient's oral cavity and treat the teeth, etc., and at that time, raise and lower the treatment chair and tilt it up and down to make it easier to treat the patient. And then treat. Then, at that time, the surgeon wants to operate the treatment chair with a blind touch without keeping an eye on the patient's oral cavity. However, recent operation panels have a flat surface because they are sterilized by wiping the panel surface with a disinfecting cloth or the like, and the position of the switch cannot be determined by the touch of the hand, which is very inconvenient.

1A and 1B are views showing an example of an operation panel according to the present invention. FIG. 1A is a plan view, and FIG. 1B is a view B in FIG.
In the cross-sectional view taken along the line B, 21a and 21b are switches for raising and lowering the treatment chair, 22a and 22b are switches for moving up and down, and 23a and 23b are switches for tilting. So, the treatment chair is switch 2
Press 1a to wake up, press 21b to collapse, press 22a to move up, press 22b to move down, press 23a to tilt your head upwards, press 23b to tilt your head downwards. To do.

However, in the switch operation as described above, when the switch surface and the panel surface are formed on the same surface for the reason as described above, the switch operation cannot be performed by blind touch. I had to visually check the switch. The present invention has been made to solve the above inconvenience, and (b)
As shown in the figure, a protrusion 30 (for example, a protrusion of a size that can be used for Braille for the blind) is provided in the vicinity of the switch, and the protrusion 30 is searched by blind touch.
Switch 21a, 21b; 22a, 22
b; 23a and 23b are operated.
In the case of the switch configuration of the illustrated example, basically, one projection 30 can be used to confirm the positions of the six switches by blind touch, but in addition, the shapes can be changed to 31, 32, etc. By providing the protrusion of, the position of each switch can be more accurately confirmed by blind touch.

Although an example in which the operation panel itself is provided with a protrusion has been described above, in reality, dental treatment units having an operation panel that does not have a protrusion, that is, cannot perform blind touch, are available on the market. It would be advantageous if the present invention could be applied to these units as well. In this case, therefore, a protrusion that is used for Braille or the like is provided in advance on the transparent thin sheet in correspondence with the position of the switch, and this sheet is adhered to the panel surface. In this way, it is possible to easily adapt to a commercially available dental unit. Above,
An example in which the present invention is applied to a treatment chair operation panel of a dental treatment unit has been described, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be applied to an operation panel for any application that requires blind touch. It is easy to understand that

[0010]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, in dental treatment or the like, it is possible to perform switch operations such as up and down of the treatment chair, tilting and tilting with a blind touch. , Dental treatment has become extremely easy and efficient.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an example of an operation panel according to the present invention, in which (a) is a plan view and (b) is B in (a).
It is a -B line sectional view.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of a dental treatment unit to which the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

20 ... Operation panel, 21a, 21b; 22a, 22b;
23a, 23b ... Switch, 30, 31, 32 ... Protrusion.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An operation panel having a touch switch surface on the same surface as the panel surface, wherein an operation panel has a protrusion on the surface of the operation panel in the vicinity of the switch. 2. An operation panel having a touch switch surface on the same surface as the panel surface, wherein a transparent thin sheet is removably adhered to the surface of the operation panel, and the surface of the sheet is close to the switch. An operation panel having a protrusion at a position.